Iowa High School Video Surveillance System
Linn-Mar Stadium
Client
Industry
Products & Services
Background
Linn-Mar is a public K-12 school district located in Marion and Cedar Rapids, IA. The Linn-Mar district is comprised of 10 schools serving nearly 7,000 students. The district offers 80 extra-curricular activities with 80% of the student body participating in an extra-curricular activity.
Challenge
The Linn-Mar district unveiled a new $10M stadium facility in 2011. This new stadium is considered to be one of the top athletic centers in Iowa. It features 5,000 seats on the home side, 1,000 visitor seats, a regulation soccer field, and an eight-lane track.
Administrators sought a security system that would ensure a safe experience for students and visitors and at the same time, protect their investment in the state-of-the-art stadium. The Iowa high school’s video surveillance system needed to be cost-effective and have the ability to scale with the growing district.
Additionally, on the football field, coaches and athletes were using outdated technology that provided low-quality footage with minimal zoom and editing capabilities. The poor-quality footage made it difficult for coaches to use the video as a teaching tool.
“Overall, our number one priority is safety,” said Linn-Mar Associate Athletic Director, Tonya Moe. “We wanted to provide a safe experience for players, students and guests. At the same time, we wanted to protect our investment in the new stadium.”
Solution
Key administrators at Linn-Mar met with Inteconnex, a leading provider of innovative and integrated physical security systems. In learning about the school district’s goals, both near and longer-term, Inteconnex designed and recommended a dual-use system that would accomplish Linn-Mar’s security goals as well as the district’s athletic goals. The new system includes three high definition (HD) Pan-Tilt-Zoom (PTZ) cameras and video management software. Inteconnex worked with Linn-Mar to install additional fixed HD security cameras throughout the stadium to enhance security at the new facility. Additionally, this system is connected to the district’s IT network so administrators can log on from anywhere and easily search and view footage. This accessibility and high-quality footage decrease the time it takes to search footage—ultimately resulting in shorter investigation times.
The security system is dual use in nature—primarily, the cameras and video management system monitor the stadium, parking lot and nearby grounds. As an additional advantage, during game times, two of the HD PTZ cameras can be focused on the field to provide high definition footage of practices and games. The cameras are joystick-operated by a student videographer from the press box. The high-quality football footage is then downloaded into the HUDL system used by coaches and players in various Iowa school districts to review, analyze and strategize plays.
The new system installed by Inteconnex, improves security measures at one of the key facilities in the growing district—providing the framework for future upgrades and expansion of the system to other facilities in the district. There are no yearly software maintenance fees and by installing newer technology HD cameras, the district requires fewer cameras with a better result.
“We are pleased to have assisted Linn-Mar with implementing this state-of-the-art security system at their new stadium facility,” said Marc Meyer, President of Inteconnex. “They have invested in a solution that will grow with their district and provide a safer environment for students and visitors. At the same time, the high-quality footage allows for the enrichment and development of their athletes.”
Benefits
Linn-Mar is pleased with the security system and the support provided by Inteconnex.
“This system helps deter vandalism and makes it easier to resolve incidents when they do occur,” Moe said. “The new equipment and software make it easy to quickly search footage and we’re provided with clear quality footage that we did not have before. The quality is even good at night, plus we have the ability to zoom in and out on license plates and various areas of the stadium and surrounding grounds.”
Additionally, “It has been great working with Inteconnex. The staff has been extremely responsive to any issues or questions. They have worked closely with our staff to implement and fine tune the system so that it works optimally for our district’s needs.”
Prior to installing this new system, Linn-Mar had been using standard, consumer-grade handheld camcorders for game footage. “Our football program relies on quality video—this new system has been a great teaching tool. The quality is unparalleled. We use the system on a daily basis and have found that it’s something we can’t do without,” Bob Forsyth, Head Football Coach and Physical Education Instructor at Linn-Mar. “In addition to having the quality footage for review, the download process to the HUDL program is faster—saving us time and resources.”
About Inteconnex
Inteconnex is the Midwest’s leading physical security innovator. The company designs and installs comprehensive security environments with customized and fully-networked capability. The highly trained staff at Inteconnex has roots in information technology, providing customers with unrivaled technical expertise, service and the highest performing systems for today’s increasingly complex and networked world of advanced security.
